Paul L. Newby II | The Grand Rapids PressJohn Tripp is shown with the hockey jerseys he made out of chainmail that are on display at Riverfront Cafe. Each took about 200 hours to finish and cost between $250 and $300 for materials.

GRAND RAPIDS -- There were times when John Tripp would come home from work and lack the motivation needed to work on his ArtPrize project.

But his wife, Sara, was always there to give him the extra push he needed.

After all, the Kentwood couple already had sacrificed their season tickets to the Grand Rapids Griffins so he could afford to complete the project.

Tripp created six Griffins-themed jerseys made out of chainmail -- a type of armor consisting of small metal rings linked together -- for ArtPrize. The exhibit is on display at Riverfront Cafe, 235 W. Fulton St.

"There were times when I'd be like, 'No, I don't want to pick up the pliers, I don't want to try and knit tonight.' " he said. "But she was like, 'No, if you're going to do it, you've got to get it done.' "

The project was a labor of love for Tripp, who had been a Griffins season-ticket holder for the past seven years.

The jerseys all contain a Griffins-related reference, from former players Aaron Downey and Darren McCarty to a No. 7 representing the fans.

"I just took some of my inspiration with the team and decided to make my own little spin on it," said Tripp, 37. "See what I could do."

Each individual jersey contains 60,000 3/8-inch rings, which were assembled one at a time as Tripp opened and closed each ring with a pair of needle-nose pliers.

Each jersey took about 200 hours to finish and cost between $250 and $300 for materials, which consist of steel, brass, bronze, titanium, stainless steel and anodized aluminum.

The jerseys are displayed on used hockey sticks that were given to Tripp by a friend who used to play at Ferris State University.

Completing the project is a round shield with 10 languages that all say "The puck stops here."

Tripp first learned how to make chainmail in his college days, when a friend got him involved with Renaissance festivals and medieval re-enactments.

Eventually, he saw a resemblance in the personal honor codes that are required both during the re-enactments and on the ice.

"It gets around in a hurry if you don't take your hits, if you're not respectful of other fighters," he said. "That's true with hockey as well. If you get out there and get a reputation as a dirty player, you're going to have everyone and their brother out there head-hunting you."

Tripp completed his first chainmail jersey in 2008, long before he had even heard of ArtPrize. When he saw the wide variety of mediums displayed last year, he decided to take a shot this fall.

"Last year, some of my friends were like, 'Hey, you really need to get involved,' " he said. "I had said no because I was picturing that ArtPrize would be more of the traditional mediums. Paintings, sculpture, things like that."